"I'm not sure how to feel about this," Michael said, massaging the crease on his forehead.
Knowing this information would have dampened his spirits. Just then, Virian said something that he really wanted to hear.
"Do you want to see the GodForge piece?"
Of course, he nodded his head like an eager dog and followed Virian back to the pocket dimension.
As he transported himself to the territory of the Fairies, he saw a few scorched trees and destroyed tentacles. The battle with the Flarecorp army certainly did a number on the environment, but thankfully, it didn't affect much of the Fairies' village.
The Mushroom King sat on the outskirts, its spores wiggling, as it waited for Virian to return. Once she patted its red-spotted cap, the Mushroom King gleefully let out spores that glittered like gold.
"Thankfully, Vivi's friend here stopped the fire from doing much damage," Virian commented.
Michael still found it hard to believe that Vivi could create or even command a 7-star creature such as the Mushroom King. In his eyes, it was a pet, and Vivi was the troublemaker kid that always accompanied it.
"The GodForge piece is located at the very center of this pocket dimension—directly underneath my house."
Virian floated over her own house, letting her wings flutter and release golden dust-like particles that surrounded the entire mushroom house. Eventually, a golden aura overcame the entire structure before the ground underneath it started to rumble.
A few seconds later, her house lifted off the ground, floating slowly upwards.
"So this is the infamous Fairy's dust," Michael said in wonder. Thanks to his mastery of mana, he figured out that the golden dust was just a collection of bunched up mana that created a magic spell. Basically, it was a levitation skill.
And as the mushroom's 'roots' were plucked out of the ground, the soil was disturbed enough to reveal a white fire that, strangely enough, didn't burn any of its surroundings.
"This is what we call the eternal flame," Virian said, the flames' lights flickering on her face. "We believe that it was what helped us preserve our sanctuary here in the forest.
Our ancestors and the ones before them all told us to protect and preserve the Fairy race through all means possible. Most of us thought that it meant protecting this pocket dimension, this GodForge piece.
But our fateful meeting with you made me realize that preserving our Fairy race doesn't mean staying in place. It could also mean going with the flow of the times.
Humanity is at an upheaval. I could feel it even here in the pocket dimension. The status quo is slowly changing, and that could spell trouble for us. If you hadn't met us, we would have certainly been forced to ally with those other humans.
I believe that siding with you not just protects our race in the coming change, but also progresses it.
I present to you…our GodForge piece."
Michael floated towards the raging white fire buried in the ground. As he came closer and closer, he saw a metallic shine peeking out from the unearthed soil.
…badump…badump…
He felt his heart start to stir—or more speficially, the Godforce piece in his heart. It sensed its own kind.
"I'm sorry, but the pieces in our possession are small compared to what other species hold. But, it will still allow you to transcend two stages of your Diva," Virian warned.
Michael raised his hand and let the natural attraction, or maugnetism, he felt from the GodForce piece pull him in.
Finally, his palm passed through the raging white fire.
The flame erupted even more as he made contact, challenging him to see if he was worthy. This fire could burn through anything. But then, a prismatic shield appeared above his skin and repelled the white fire, allowing him to move closer.
It flickered for a second, as if surprised. The [Absolute Unity Defense] in his hand was familiar, complementary to its own flame.
At that moment, the ground shook. The metallic piece started to unbury itself from the loose soil. The GodForge piece was starting to unearth itself as it rushed towards Michael's side.
Finally, it shot off almost instantaneously to his heart, flinging Michael backwards until he landed on the Mushroom King's embrace.
He looked down, seeing no wound nor entry point as the GodForge piece entered his body. But he felt it. It bypassed his skin and his organs until it found a place near the two upper valves of his heart.
Then, it met the old GodForge piece sticking to his heart. The two paused for a moment before they clicked together like a puzzle piece.
They were like long-lost brothers, finally having a reunion in Michael's heart.
Michael thought that that was it. But then, the two GodForge pieces surged with unprecedented power.
It was a foreign power that not even his mastery of mana could resist.
His Diva manifested above him. The mechanical, robotic arm held nothing but a clenched fist.
As he felt the power pulsating from the GodForge pieces, the Diva above him started to move.
Virian clenched her hands together as she saw the disembodied hand start to grow. More of its robotic structure was starting to be revealed, from the wrist going up to the elbow.
As it reached the joint, the growth stopped. Eventually, his Diva shimmered out of existence.
Finally, Michael felt the power subside. He clenched his heart, which was slowly starting to beat slower to its normal rhythm.
He took deep breaths, trying to recenter himself. He found that performing mana gathering helped with the recovery.
"Haa…"
As he returned to normal, he looked at his hands and felt different. Somehow, he could feel the presence of his Diva even if it wasn't above him. Not only that, but he was starting to have a sense of the new power, or Aubility, that he was about to awaken.
It was like gaining a new arm. Except, this arm was still numb and something that he was still unable to control.
But still, it was a huge difference from before. Back then, he couldn't even feel his Aubility.
He felt like he could make that metal slag move now if he wanted to.
Despite thinking that he was able to make good progress, Virian thought differently.
"That's it?! You were supposed to transcend to the third stage of Body Formation with that GodForge piece. But you're still at the first stage!"
Michael closed his eyes and saw his Diva's presence. It had grown significantly, but not enough to form a full arm.
"You were supposed to grow your arm and a little bit of your chest. But instead, you've just progressed maybe halfway to the second stage!"
"Maybe natural Maugnetics like me need more GodForge pieces to cultivate…"
Virian was in deep thought. In her mind, that wasn't likely. But, maybe her knowledge about natural Maugnetics wasn't as deep as she thought.
"I don't know. But from this, it looks like you'll need to put twice as much effort than a normal Maugnetic to advance through the stages."
Michael was bummed with that, but there was no choice. He was just thankful that he was able to progress his Diva even by a little bit.
At least now, he can try and awaken his Aubility.